Illegal immigrants in lorry realise they aren’t heading to UK ...so call cops for help!
A SCOTS trucker has told of his shock when immigrants were hauled from the back of his lorry after they called the police when they realised he was not heading to the UK.
John Warbeck was pulled over in the Netherlands after human traffickers loaded his container with illegal immigrants in France, believing he was heading to Britain.
The experienced driver was held in custody by the Dutch authorities for six days after nine people were discovered in his vehicle.
They were loaded onto Mr Warbeck’s lorry while he slept. He had made a rest stop at Dunkirk after crossing on the Dover to Calais ferry.
The 57-year-old was on his way to deliver McDonald’s drink trays to Germany via Belgium and Holland when he was pulled over by police.
He continued with his planned journey after being released and is now back at home in Chapelknowe, Dumfriesshire, with wife Claire, 47, and children aged 21, 15, and nine-year old twins.
He said: ‘I knew from other drivers that had the experience of migrants in their trucks what delays it can cause and how costly it can be.
‘The situation shouldn’t be a surprise, but it’s a shock when they are in your truck.’
He added: ‘It transpired that they had been told they were going to the UK when they were helped into the back of the truck.
‘They had a mobile phone and as you travel through Europe your network provider changes from country to country – it would be plain to them that they were travelling in the wrong direction.’
He said the length of the journey would also have alerted them to their error, as they had expected to be at Calais within 30 minutes. Mr Warbeck said he would have had to quarantine if he had chosen to take a flight home on his release instead of continuing with his delayed delivery.
He added: ‘It wasn’t a case of being released and then straight home. But you don’t want to be beaten.’
The migrant crisis has caused a major problem for workers like him, he says.
He added: ‘The detention initially was understandable and I accepted it.
‘On the morning when the migrants were found in my wagon I knew that I was going to be involved in a lot of explanation and a lot of investigation into why they were there and how they came to be there. I knew that the process wasn’t going to be quick.
‘One very puzzling fact that I could not understand was how, after three hours of travelling from Dunkirk, did the police in Holland know that I had migrants in my trailer. They later told me that it was the
‘Travelling in the wrong direction’
‘Shock was evident on my face’
migrants who had phoned them.’
He said the haulage industry was being badly affected by the migrant crisis, adding: ‘It’s an international problem and it’s been going on for many years. In my experience, it’s getting worse. People are getting more desperate.
‘The shock was evident on my face when they pulled them out the back of my truck.’
Now enjoying some muchneeded rest, he said: ‘It’s great to be home. This part of Scotland has never looked so good.
‘I’ll enjoy some time with the family for the next few days.’